If your camera
doesn't have the ability to attach other lenses to it, like mine,
there is an alternative way to attach them to your camera. I prefer
to use toilet paper rolls, because they are already curved and
are therefore easily fitted and customized.
I
wanted to couple my 135 mm and my 55 mm lens together so that
I could get a better magnification from a greater distance
and to reduce the loss of light in a photo.
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First,
I turned both lenses' focus rings to the position you see
on the right (infinity focus). It gives a better focus in
the auto focus mode of my digital camera.
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Then
I stacked both of the lenses, one on top of the other, so
that I could get the right width for the "coupler ring".
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Now,
take a toilet paper roll and hold it next to the lenses. Mark
the correct width with a pencil or pen. Cut the marked piece
off. I use tape to form a line along the length of the piece
of cardboard. Works better on curved surfaces.
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You
will find that the toilet paper roll isn't wide enough to
get around the lenses. Mark a new piece of cardboard in the
same way as before, fit it in the gap, and tape it to the
rest. Keep adding layers in the same way until you have reached
the same diameter as the outer diameter of the lenses. |
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Add
a larger piece of toilet paper roll to the finished rings,
you will probably have to fit in an extra piece , also, as
this is an even larger diameter. Make sure that the larger
lens is nicely wrapped in the coupler; it needs to give stability
to the construction in the end. If the lens isn't far enough
in the coupler, it will constantly fall out. |
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When
that's done, and well taped together, take both lenses out
of the coupler and glue the coupler together with, preferably,
a hot glue gun. This assures a good fit and leaves some
time to get the glue out of the inner rings.
After
gluing you can put both lenses back into the coupler, assuming
the glue is dry. Now you can start building the coupler
for the camera lens and other lenses you may want to add
to your camera. This is done in roughly the same way as
the coupler between the two lenses.
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Make
sure that the end that goes around the exterior of the lens
is tightly fitted. You cannot make a screw fitting because
cardboard and paper tape are too weak to support the weight.
However, if you fit it tightly, it will clamp the lens in
such a way that it won't fall off. Wrap tape around that end
to make it fit tight.
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The
end result will look somewhat like this, depending on the
lenses and camera you use. |
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This
is an example of the hiighest magnification one can get
with this new lens combination combined with the 3x optical
zoom and 2x digital zoom in my camera. It is a photo of
a flower stamen with the pollen grains clearly visible.
It isn't the best shot in the world but I still have to
get used to the limited freedom of movement the lens combination
provides.
I hope
this can help you. It surely helped me because I don't have
money for a digital SLR or even another lens to put on one.
All
the best,
Tom
Burger
A.K.A. Nephiliim
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Copyright
Tom Burger 2005. All rights reserved. |
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